Dharamshala reels under scarcity of parking spaces

Traffic jam near Kacheri Junction in Dharamshala (Image Credit: Shubham)

By: Shubham Sharma

 Dharamshala: Despite being selected to be developed as a smart city, Dharamsala is yet to have enough parking spaces in the city limits. Though a new parking lot has just finished construction in the DC office compound, it is limited in capacity.

Baldev Guleria, the guard who takes care of the parking lot in the DC office, says that when traffic increases the place gets filled easily. "This parking lot is too small and gets filled up easily when the traffic increases'', he said. The parking lot can accommodate only 60 cars.

Most of the hotels have no parking available and even government offices have insufficient parking. Due to this, in most places in the city limits and the adjoining tourist spots, vehicles park on the road side, often causing traffic jams, especially on peak days.

         "Dal Lake is a good place but for tourists, there is no area for parking available. The vehicles of tourists have to be parked on the roadside,'' said Nikita Patel, a tourist from Gujarat. Especially after the recent snowfalls, road to Naddi and Dal Lake got choked with traffic jams on weekends as hundreds of tourists poured in to enjoy the snow. In the absence of parking space, vehicles parked on the side of these narrow roads holds up the entire traffic. “My family members had to wait for an hour in the car to reach the tourist spot, due to the traffic jam”, says Nikita.

This is also affecting the local business as well. According to Saurabh Thakur, one of the owners of Thakur Tea Stall near the Police Ground, this cost him good business on certain days. "Due to lack of parking, people are not able to stop nearby to have a cup of tea,'' says he.

The narrow roads are a big issue here, especially during the peak season from May to June, says Vijay Kumar, a traffic police officer in Dharamshala. “There shall be one way system in the city to improve the situation”, says he. Many shop keepers feel that the parking problem in Dharamshala and nearby tourist places such as Dharamkot, Bhagsu Naag, Dal Lake, Mcleodganj, and Naddi could be eased by developing some more parking areas.

     

The absence of parking spaces has also resulted in people getting used to parking by the roadside. "More parking lots are needed but strict rules are also required as in case of other smart cities like Chandigarh”, says Vijay Kumar. “In those cities, police quickly takes away vehicles which violate parking rules”, he said.

A tank which stands on its knees in the honour of our soldiers in Chawinda

The M47 Patton Tank captured from the Pakistan army during 1965 conflict, on display at War Memorial Dharamshala (Image Credit: Manish Gupta)

by: Manish Gupta

Dharamshala: “The M-47 Patton tank captured from Pakistan during the 1965 war is like a medal for Indian Army”, says Col KKS Dadwal (Retd), the current chairman of war memorial in Dharamshala about the battle tank on display at the memorial.


According to Memorial officials, it belonged to the 6th Armoured Division of Pakistan Army and was among the tanks captured by the 1st Armoured Division of Indian Army in the battle of Chawinda in one of the largest tank battles after World War II. Also used as MBT (Main Battle Tank), the M47 Patton tanks were the most advanced tanks during the period. During the 1965 conflict, India has destroyed 471 Pakistani tanks as per official estimates and captured 38 of them.


“The tank’s barrel is kept low as it is the practice with captured tanks”, said Col KKS Dadwal. The tank on display at the Dharamshala war memorial, the only War Memorial in in Himachal Pradesh, is a center of attraction for the visitors. The tank on display has a 90 MM main gun capable of firing 71 rounds with the in-tank ammunition. Weighing 44.1 tons, it had an operational range of 100 kilometers and a maximum speed of 40 KMPH.


“We are taking care of it with honor and a feeling of patriotism”, said Ashok Sharma, who works as a clerk at the memorial. “Visitors come from faraway places to pay their respects to the martyrs”, he added.


“This tank is like a war trophy which our solders got by sacrificing their lives and I am proud to have a look at it,” said Aman Deep Singh, a tourist from Punjab.


Named after General George S Patton, an exponent of tank battle, who commanded the US Third Army in World War II, Patton tanks were considered formidable weapons till 70s. The 1965 Indo-Pak conflict became the first real combat test for Patton tanks and it did not turn good for it. During the conflict, Indian army decimated more than 97 Pakistani tanks in the Khem Karan- Asal Uttar battle on 10th September 1965. According to US war historian Steven Zaloga, more than 65 of these tanks were M47 & M48 Pattons. The place and the battle later came to be known as the ‘graveyard of Pattons’.

" Whatever happens now,I will not be silent.I will run away with kids if I've to "

Representative image ( Credit : Umang Arora)

By: Umang Arora
“My husband wouldn’t use protection, Didi. I’ve to buy contraceptive pills every now and then. I now have started to feel pain in various parts of my body. He would drink daily. I don’t know what to do. I cannot even leave him. My children will suffer,” says Kusum*, a woman in her mid-forties who hails from Uttar Pradesh and works as a home maid at several houses in Jalandhar city.

This is not just the story of Kusum. Many women, living in the villages of rural North India, virtually go through similar experiences. Dominated by the husband, tortured by the in-laws, they often don’t speak to anyone about the misery they put up with.  Domestic violence related to dowry and sex determination is a matter of regular occurrence for them, even today.

“He even said that if I get pregnant somehow, he’ll dump me and marry someone else,” says Kusum with fear in her eyes. Kusum’s story about how she manages to go home at the end of the day to face her husband is a shaking one.

Kusum has three boys but her husband won’t let any of them go to school.  He wants them to pick up errands available in the residential complexes in the city, like washing people’s cars, which will pay up small sums. She has tried several times to enroll them in the school but he wouldn’t let them go.

The misery does not condone the hard work needed to earn the daily bread.  Her daily shift starts from 8 in the morning till 9 in the night. She would find extra part time work as well to make the ends meet. “Whatever I earn at the end of the month, he manages to snatch away. Even if I try to hide it from him, he would make me swear by my children. I cannot lie then.” Kusum’s husband usually takes away all the money and spends it on booze.

“Fortunately”, her mother-in-law has died but it is her husband now, who is making life a hell for her. “It’s good if this person also dies, I’ll sail my kids somehow,” she murmurs.  “My mother gave bed, utensils, jewelry and what not; still my in-laws used to beat me up and would ask me to get cash from my mother. My mother has brought up us three sisters on her own” recalls Kusum.

Her father would beat up her mother when they used to live in their gaon. As a little girl, she would see her sisters getting beaten up by her father and in-laws. “Every night my father used to beat my mother for not giving birth to a boy,” recalls Kusum. When it became unbearable, her mother ran away from there. She was carrying her fourth child in the womb at that time.  “Hamaari taraf aisa he hota hai! (This is what happens at our side!),”shrugs Kusum.

There’s a long, long battle for Kusum to fight through. For herself and her children. “The bastard doesn’t even die! Whatever happens now, I will not be silent. I will run away with kids if I’ve to,” says Kusum.

*Name changed for the privacy

Time for Indian politics to regain civility in debate

Parliament being disrupted by MP's 

By: Umang Arora

Indian politics appears to be at a very alarming stage. The kind of behavior shown by our representatives in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha is very embarrassing. There’re no sign of healthy discussions from which anything good can be concluded.

Lately, the sessions have deteriorated to bedlam whenever a controversial issue comes up for deliberation. Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm on Tuesday due to Congress protest seeking Home Ministers’ resignation on the NRC issue. Samajwadi Party members later started protesting against the 13-point Roster system disrupting the later session. Speaking outside Parliament House, Speaker said “unruly behavior” would not be accepted from any Member of Parliament. “I had warned them three times not to make noise or throw papers but despite my warning, they created a ruckus and behaved in an unruly manner. The scene was similar to a college classroom where kids throw papers at each other. If these members act and behave like them no sooner we will have to suspend all every time or take action.” The productivity of Rajya Sabha, in this budget session, clocked at a mere 5%, according to PRS Legislative Research estimates.

There’s no country in the world where conflicts don’t take place. Debates and discussions are a sign of healthy democracy. However, minimum civility should be maintained even at the face of extreme disagreements. Most often, the speaker is seen pleading the members to “maintain the decorum” in the assembly. Whether there’s hooting, hugging or screaming, they all interrupt the activities of the Parliament ultimately wasting the public money involved in holding a session of representatives in the biggest democracy in the world.

Unruly behavior in the Sabhas is nothing new in the Indian context. The President’s address to a joint session was disrupted on 18th Feb 1963 by some of the MPs for the speech being in English instead of Hindi. Then Prime Minister Nehru condemned the act and described it as “the first of its kind” and “most regrettable” one.

“The Rules of Conduct and Parliamentary Etiquette” of the Rajya Sabha in fact draws out the rules of the game very clearly. As per the document, “the House has the right to punish its members for their misconduct whether in the House or outside it. In cases of misconduct or contempt committed by its members, the House can impose a punishment in the form of admonition, reprimand, and withdrawal from the House, suspension from the service of the House, imprisonment and expulsion from the House." It is the duty of Chairman/Deputy Chairman of the Parliament to apply the existing rules strictly.

The way politicians presented themselves in the Sabha was not something which can be shown to the young in the country as a civilized example of a debate. In fact, the culture of debate is coming down day by day. For instance, out of the 14 bills passed in the winter session, 9 were deliberated upon for less than an hour and a half only. Even when someone’s speaking, the other side would keep hooting, keep interrupting the whole assembly.

Most of the politicians don’t even bother to show up. Only 5% of MPs have 100% attendance. While the average attendance of MPs is 73% against the required 80%, there are MPs like Hema Malini(BJP), Mausam Noor(INC), Anoop Mishra(BJP) or Muzaffar Hussain Baig(PDP) who’ve attendance of 39%, 47%, 46% and 11% respectively during their tenure as per the data of PRS Legislative Research. Almost 25 MPs have never participated in any discussion or asked any questions ever.

We talk of becoming a superpower nation but it is only possible if the citizens, most importantly our politicians, acknowledge the importance of debate in a democracy and follow the ways of expressing disagreement in civility. Though democracy is also about agreeing to disagree, it shall not be by shouting the other down.

Uttar Pradesh voters gears up for verdict 2019

Rumi Darwaza, a historical monument in Lucknow (Image Credit: Wikipedia)

By: Sayed Adi Shah Ashraf

The air is getting warm in UP despite the prolonged winter spell as all major parties prepping up their pre-poll games in the state for the imminent Lok Sabha elections. Expected to be slated in April – May this year, the elections will find UP with its sizeable LS seat share, playing a major role in deciding who will rule in Delhi. Tea shop discussions are already on about the possible outcome.

"Public is now educated and sincere and they will vote for those who will work for the future of the country, " says Sanjay Tripathi, a businessman from Lucknow. He adds that the election should be held on the ground of development rather than caste or religion.

Moizuddin Ansari, a cycle mechanic who has been living in Lucknow for the last 35 years is that the SP-BSP alliance has better chances this time. “Akhilesh Yadav has worked for UP and I will definitely vote for him,” says Ansari.  SP and BSP have formed an alliance this time. Both parties have decided to contest 38 seats each seats and will leave 2 seats for smaller allies. Though a staunch supporter of Akhilesh, Anzari says he is unsatisfied with SP and BSP alliance. “This alliance is formed just to oppose NDA. It must work for the state and county, instead”, he says.  However, this is not reflected by many SP supporters. For instance, Ram Yadav, a shopkeeper from Lucknow has only one slogan, " no one else than Akhilesh Yadav.” He told that he has been voting SP all his life and he will continue to do so.

Ritesh Kumar lives in Gomti Nagar and is an employee of a private firm. He think this time BJP should be winning the fray. "I used to vote for BSP, but now on seeing the larger picture, I think I will vote for BJP," says he.

INC has decided to fight in UP alone this time. Nitish Dubey, a journalism student with the Lucknow University showed a different picture for the election. According to him, voters are very much confused with the alliances and it will definitely have an effect in the upcoming election. Being a ground level worker for Congress, he is confident that his party will make good this time in UP.

It is not difficult to spot Modi fan boys, especially among young voters. Suraj, an engineering student from Babu Banarasi Das University says he is going to vote for BJP mainly because of Modi. “For me the major concern is development and better opportunities and Modi, I believe, is working in the exact direction," he says.

However, UP is turning out to be a tough nut to crack for major parties. The exit polls point out that the SP-BSP alliance can actually play spoilsport by dampening the hopes of INC and BJP in UP. During the last general elections in 2014, BJP along with its ally Apna Dal bagged 73 out of the 80 seats leaving SP with five seats and INC with two seats.

83% government schools in the state have less than 60 students

Students going to school (representative image) credits: Wiki Media Commons 

By :Shalini Thakur

Dharamshala: The number of government schools with less than 60 students is increasing in the state for the last decade, reveals the latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2018 brought out by Pratham, an NGO working to improve quality of education.  According to the report, 58.1% government schools in the state had less than 60 students in 2009, now the figure stands at 83.1%.

“In our school there are 50 students at present and there are only two teachers. The strength was the same last year too. But earlier, we used to have more than 70 students, “says Anjana Kumari, a Para Assistant teacher in government school, Khaniyara.

According to ASER 2018, the enrollment of students between the age group of 6 to 15 in private schools in the state marked more than two percent increase between 2016 and 2018. At national level the corresponding rise for the period is just 0.03%.

“I am a former student of this school which started in 1927. At that time it used to be at its best”, says Vijay Kumar, who heads the Government Primary School in Khaniyara. “But now things have changed, children at three are going to play schools, LKG,UKG and everybody prefers private schools, “ he adds.

"Quality of education won't be improved just by yielding infrastructure to schools" says Naveen Bhandari, Principal of Government Senior Secondary School at Khaniyara Khas, Dharamshala. He thinks that the debate over the comparative quality of education imparted by private and government educational institutions will never come to an end.

"Being a father, i want my son to get good education. He is studying in a private school because I know the conditions of government schools. In my school itself, there are no recruitments of teachers for the past one year,” he says.

However, not everything is hunky-dory with private schools in the state as per the figures released. For instance, the percentage growth in students in the 8th standard who can do division was 4.3 between 2016 and 2018 in government schools. But it fell by 5.1 percent in private schools in the state for the same period.

“The students who are weak in studies are usually removed from private schools. Sending them to our schools is the only option left with their parents,” says Anjana. Despite this, learning levels of students enrolled in government schools in the state shows improvement. Percentage of 5th standard students in government schools who can read at least a 2nd standard text was 65.3 in 2016, which improved to 74.5 in 2018. Corresponding figures for the private school students were 78 in 2016 and 80.4 in 2018. Proportion of students at 5th standard in government schools who can do division improved from 47.4% in 2016 to 51.5% in 2018. Corresponded figures for private schools were 63% and 64%.

Millennials, a driving force towards Sustainability

Fashion & Sustainability (Representative Image)

By Preshita Thakur

State of Fashion 2018 report by BoF and McKinsey reveals that nearly sixty percent of global millennials are willing to spend on sustainable brands. Nielsen have dubbed 2018 as the year of the influential sustainable consumer which they credit entirely to the millennials and their shopping patterns.

Millennials as a word refers to people born between the early 1980s to late 1990s, marked by their increased use and familiarity with communication, media, and digital technologies. A very common misconception is that millennials are into ‘fads’, as in, short-lived trends. But aren’t we all confusing millennials as the immature type, not at all concerned about the quality of their consumption, wasting their money on whatever that’s ‘in trend’?

It is high time we clear those judgemental clouds and see where today’s generation is headed to. What better way to learn about them if we don’t include fashion as a way to understand the word ‘sustainable’ which has ended up in their regular life jargon.

Mehak Sharma, a millenial fashion blogger with more than 40k of loyal followers on Instagram, says; “everyone knows what sustainability is. We’ve all studied it at school, in college, but what makes us different is our action”. She points out that her regular posts about skin care are popular because people want to know about these brands which don’t hurt the environment as well as their skin. “They’re very conscious about the chemicals”, she says.

We’ve all heard “to kill two birds with one stone”, and millennials are the ones doing it when it comes to fashion and sustainability. You don’t have to buy clothes synthetically made to be fashionable, you don’t have to use makeup made from chemicals, all of which is more or less impossible to decompose. That is where sustainable and eco-friendly; the new ‘it’ terms in the world of fashion comes in.

Designer Mercy Renthlei, who started her own accessories label ‘MERCY’ last year, points out to the same principle for using canvas and other eco-friendly fabrics. “It is a good investment with varying results, less clutter everywhere, plus consciously I’m doing good”, says she.

It is no wonder that names like Forest Essentials, Innisfree, Khadi Natural are a hit for their natural skincare and beauty products. Indian brands such as Pero, Nicobar, Bodice, 11:11 are all popular for their sustainable yet fashionable clothes and accessories.

‘Sustainable’ is such a hit that major fast fashion retailers like H&M have also introduced their own line called “Conscious” to cater to the growing niche consumers. Celebrities like Emma Watson regularly promotes sustainable fashion as witnessed with a separate Instagram account where she details everything sustainable she wears and uses.

The fact is that today, millennials have far more spending power and are willing to contribute towards an ethical cause. However, more brands need to identify this developing supermarket which will not only help them but also our home, our ecosystem. And to people who have still not thought about this, now is the time to think and act accordingly.